In Over Your Head UC DAVIS ARBORETUM: MUSEUM OF TREES+

By Monica Stark

A museum of trees in the heart of the UC Davis campus invites families, visitors of all ages and even dogs on leashes 24 hours a day, year-round, to enjoy its demonstration gardens and scientific collections.

Voted as the Davis Enterprise’s Reader’s Choice for Best Tourist Destination in Yolo County, the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden “inspires human potential to help people and environments thrive.”

Whether taking an accessible pathway or an offbeat trail, the Arboretum invites visitors to explore academic influences from various departments, be it plant science, veterinary studies, Native American studies, ecology, or geology. This can be done with self-guided tours or free educational events, often led by environmental leaders.

From bees to butterflies, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, green herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, native western pond turtles, and even invasive species like a red-eared slider, the Arboretum teaches visitors about the critters that call it home. The Arboretum primarily focuses on plants from Mediterranean climates, meaning dry summers and cold winters; the various collections focus on California, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Mediterranean.

Beautiful for most of the year, the gardens boast about 100

“Arboretum All-Stars”; plants that do well in California’s Mediterranean climate and are tested in the UC Davis Arboretum. Many All-Stars are low-maintenance, droughttolerant, attract beneficial wildlife and pollinator insects, and are power-line friendly. In the Arboretum, they are identified with brightly colored signs, each with a photo of the plant in bloom, a list of its qualities, and information on how to grow it, according to the Arboretum All-Stars booklet.

Since 1936, community outreach and education have been cornerstones of the success of the Arboretum. In addition to staff horticulturists, student interns of various focuses, and volunteers, collectively donating about 26,000 hours a year, the Arboretum connects people with the environment and the work of the UC Davis campus. Whether you’re biking alongside white and yellow flowers growing in the Pollinator garden, on the lookout for cacti growing fruit and flowers in the Desert Collection, having a picnic at Lake Spafford, witnessing a hummingbird enjoy a taste of spider aloe at the Hummingbird GATEway Garden, going on a full moon walk in the white flower garden or simply relaxing in the Native American Contemplative Garden, three types of gardens dominate the living museum: demonstration, GATEWay Gardens, and the Arboretum’s scientific collections. Collections include Redbud, redwood, Southwest and Mexican, Oak, and Acacia. Meandering through the Arboretum’s center is the Arboretum Waterway, an old channel of Putah Creek that is essentially a pond with an excellent stormwater management system. All central campus storm drains empty into the Waterway. The Arboretum and Public Garden received a major grant to complete the renovation of the Arboretum Waterway over the next three years, with construction beginning this year.

If venturing out to the Arboretum, check out these highlights:

1. The Arboretum GATEway: A shovel-art sculpture by Artist Chris Fennell used shovels donated by the community to create a large archway. The shovels symbolize the community’s care for the Arboretum since its beginning. The Arboretum GATEway Garden connects the Arboretum with the city of Davis and is full of plants within 20 miles of the location.

2. Redwood Grove: One of the largest collections of coastal redwoods outside of its native homes, the trees were planted in 1941, just a few years after the Arboretum’s opening. With about four times as much rain as in recent years, horticulturists expect to see regrowth on some trees in the late spring.

3. Wyatt Deck: A home to many events over its 50-plus year existence, the redwood Wyatt Deck was completely renovated to replace rotting redwood boards. The deck now has an accessible pathway. If you’re a folk musician or simply like folk music, an open folk jam is held many Fridays at noon during the school year.

4. California native garden and nearby C.N. Gorman Museum of Native American Art: Native plants fill the area, which is also home to large oak trees. The nearby C.N. Gorman Museum of Native American Art, which will reopen this year for its 50th anniversary, will connect its entryway toward the Arboretum with indigenous plants. The museum has been working with the Arboretum to bring its planting palette up there. Because the Arboretum leads many tours from that area, there are more plans of collaboration due to the very compatible audiences.

5. Native American Contemplative Garden: After the remains of 13 Patwin people were discovered during the construction of the Mondavi Center, UC Davis committed to honoring Native Americans. The garden is a part of that effort. The campus sits on Patwin land, home to the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, and the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians. At the end of the path are the names of 51 Patwin people who Spanish colonizers removed between 1817 and 1836 for missionary work.

6. Animal Science GATEway Garden: Just north of the Arboretum’s Southwest U.S.A./ Mexican collection, dirt trails lead visitors to an unlocked steel gate. On the other side, visitors can learn about the horses and corrals. There is a seating area made from old tractor seats and a round deck made from fallen trees on campus. Keep your eyes peeled for hummingbirds attracted to the autumn sage, an Arboretum All-Star, found within The Southwest U.S.A./ Mexican collection, which features many drought-tolerant plants.

7. California Rock Garden: Geology classes use this garden, conveniently located outside the department building. The rocks are from various parts of California.

8. Hummingbird GATEway Garden: Working with the UC Davis Hummingbird Health and Conservation Program, the Hummingbird GATEway Garden educates the public on the importance of hummingbirds to the environment as pollinators, for example.

9. California native grass meadow: Planted with native grasses and wildflowers, the meadow holds extra rainwater from the nearby VetMed parking lot and filters the run-off.

Before the rain runoff from the parking lot gets into the waterways, which is so chock full of oil, rubber tire debris, and other pollutants, the water runs into bioswale drainage and eventually runs into this big basin. Prior to planting the meadow with native plants, water would fill the area quickly, but teams planted it with grasses boasting fibrous roots that created channels for the water to get deep into the soil.

10. Nature’s Gallery Court: A mural consisting of 140 ceramic tiles features plants and insects from the gardens near it.

11. White Flower Garden: White flowers there reflect the moonlight, perfect for nighttime walks.

12. Oak Grove: Home to more than 80 types of oaks, the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove has a collection of oaks native to the western United States as well as rare oaks.

Campus parking is available in visitor lots for daily parking ($15 per day) on weekdays and free on weekends and holidays. Parking can be purchased through the ParkMobile app or website.

To park by the hour, use permit dispensers located in the Gateway Parking Structure and visitor parking lots 1, 5, and 47 — to purchase parking by the hour.

Sources: https://arboretum. ucdavis.edu/ and tour with GATEways horticulturist Ryan Deering.